“The not-fun thing is that it was online, and we don’t have a whole lot of control over that anymore,” Black told reporters at CCI 2012. “The fun thing is, the reason it was online is that it’s a real, practical suit. It was on the set, and someone took a picture of it. It’s actually an awesomely designed suit, and the suit that Mr. Cheadle does get to wear at certain points in the movie. And at certain times on the set, maybe it’s not as fun to wear.”

Loosely based on the 2005-2006 “Extremis” story arc by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov, “Iron Man 3” also stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Jon Favreau, joined by Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, James Badge Dale and Ashley Hamilton. It opens internationally on April 25 and in North America on May 3.